What’s New at PPLD!

Rick Wartzman, author of All Pikes Peak Reads 2008 selection Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, will be making a free public appearance on November 1. After a one-hour reception, he will speak about his recently-published book, which details the outcry from certain interests over The Grapes of Wrath, another APPR 2008 title.

As Wartzman’s subtitle states, Steinbeck’s book was burned and banned in 1939, even though it was an instant bestseller. Obscene in the Extreme focuses on a Kern County, California, librarian who fought the censorship of The Grapes of Wrath, taking on politicians and big agribusiness who argued that authors like Steinbeck were causing instability nationwide.

Wartzman is director of Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker Institute, an Irvine Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, and a columnist for BusinessWeek Magazine.

• When: Saturday, November 1, reception at 6 p.m, presentation at 7 p.m.
• Where: Carnegie Reading Room, Penrose Library, 20 N. Cascade Ave.

To help conclude All Pikes Peak Reads 2008 , come to the Teen Dance Marathon. Show up in costume from the 1930s (overalls to fatigues, dresses to dungarees) and enjoy films of the Dust Bowl era, period food and drink, dance lessons, and more. The dance is being held in partnership with the Colorado Springs Conservatory and Colorado Springs School District 11.

• When: Thursday, October 30 at 6 p.m.
• Where: Galileo School of Math & Science, 1600 N. Union Blvd.

Drama students from the Colorado Springs Conservatory will perform a play based on the book Out of the Dust, an All Pikes Peak Reads 2008 teen fiction selection. Call 577-4556 for additional information.

• When: Tuesday, October 14 at 10 and 11:30 a.m.
• Where: Galileo School of Math & Science,
  1600 N. Union Blvd.

East Library will be hosting the 2008 Arts Summit: Imagination and Innovation. Artists, arts administrators, and arts teachers, under the objectives of the Dream City: Vision 2020 initiative, will discuss the future of art in the Pikes Peak region.

The featured speakers are:

• Ginger White, Facilitator, Denver Office of Cultural Affairs
• Susan Edmondson, Bee Vradenburg Foundation
• Tom Fleecs, Colorado Springs School District 11
• Nathan Newborough, Colorado Springs Philharmonic

The Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) and the Colorado Council on the Arts Peer Assistance Network will follow up to make sure there are tangible results from the plans laid out at the summit.

The registration deadline is October 13. Click here to register.

You may call 634-2204 or email intern@coppercolo.org with any questions.

• When: Saturday, October 18, 10 a.m. coffee and networking,
  summit will be 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
• Where: East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd.

Mitchell High School’s Advanced Drama Department will twice present Life in the Dust Bowl: History through the Eyes of a Child as part of All Pikes Peak Reads 2008. The narrator, Dusty, will share stories of her childhood through puppetry, storytelling, and audience participation. This program will teach about the strength of families who lived through the Great Depression. It is recommended for children ages 6 and older.

• Thursday, October 16 at 4 p.m. – Ruth Holley Branch, 685 N. Murray Blvd.
• Saturday, October 18 at 2 p.m. – East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd.

If you are registered to vote and you don’t want to wait in line or miss the opportunity to vote on November 4, here are a few options:

Early Voting

When:

• Monday - Saturday, October 20 - 25
• Monday - Friday, October 27 - 31

Where:

• Downtown, Centennial Hall, 200 South Cascade Ave. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Citadel Mall, Suite 3124, located on the upper level near JC Penney. 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
• Chapel Hills Mall, Suite 179, located on the lower level near the food court escalator. 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Mail-in Ballots

Click here for the mail-in ballot application
Fax OR mail completed application by Tuesday, October 28

• Fax: (719) 520-7327
• Mail: Election Department, P.O. Box 2007, Colorado Springs, CO 80901

Click here for more information

Information courtesy of the El Paso County Clerk & Recorder.

PPLD’s Digital Photograph Archives have been renovated to accomodate a large influx of digitized materials.

The Archives contain approximately half a million images on subjects covering Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak region, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain West, and the Southwest. Collections include a wide variety of formats, including glassplate negatives, stereo views, cyanotypes, and daguerreotypes as well as the more familiar acetate negatives, slides, and prints.

Return to the fascinating period in American history that is the focus of All Pikes Peak Reads 2008 – the Great Depression, when Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal funded a variety of art programs that not only provided jobs for artists, musicians, writers, and actors, but left a rich artistic heritage still with us today.

FDR, portrayed by Richard Marold, examines the New Deal art legacy and will answer questions. This free event precedes the Colorado Springs Philharmonic performance of A Sentimental Journey, which costs $13-50. For information, call 531-6333, x1212.

• When: Saturday, October 11 at 7 p.m.
• Where: Pikes Peak Center, Studio Bee,
  190 S. Cascade Ave.

Children are invited to explore hobo life during the Great Depression through Riding the Rails, an All Pikes Peak Reads 2008 event. Kids can learn hobo language, create a hobo bag, and make an edible campfire. Those attending should dress like a hobo and bring a canned food item to donate to Care and Share.

• Sunday, October 12 at 2 p.m. – East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd.
• Saturday, October 18 at 1:30 p.m. – Cheyenne Mountain Branch, 1785 S. 8th St.

October is Make a Difference Month, so volunteer in the community to get involved. This event is being organized by Volunteer Pikes Peak, a collaborative program of Pikes Peak United Way and the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. Individuals or groups interested in participating can go to www.volunteerpikespeak.org or call 955-0751.